My name Is Jess, I'm a 29 year old amatuer photographer, mother, and artist living in a small town in North Carolina.
I set up this Fundrazr to, first, fund the replacement of our car, which is needed for so much right now. We currently rely on a couple of close friends to get us from here to there, we're greatful for their help. However, relying on them like we have to, we try to make one stop bill payments/grocery shopping so we don't use up so much of their gas. (We put in what we can, when we can.)
For us this means having to buy everything in one go, meaning money doesn't go as far because we can't cash in on sales at the grocery store, or buy as we need. We have to stock up for a month, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Money just doesn't go as far when you're making one trip a month verses one trip a week. We've been without a car for about 2 years now, we'd had the car for about a year when the timing belt broke and messed the entire engine up. We didn't have the extra money for what it would cost to fix it.

About a year ago, my old laptop just died. I was told it was non-repairable and I'd be better off getting a new one. Yes, I thought, a new one I can't afford. So I pulled out the desktop my parents bought me when I was 17. It's what I'm currently using, but it has it's limitations. I'm worried it won't last long though. The fan constantly runs, it has restart issues where it doesn't fully shutdown, and a host of other issues that are just age.
It currently houses ALL of my photography, so the thought of it dying out before I find a solution scares me. 

If I could just get the first two things handled, I'd keep going with my broken cameras. I've had my 4 megapixel Kodak for 9 years (a gift from my brother and his family), and my 14 megapixel fujifilm finepix for only a few years when the zoom incountered a problem. Or at least that's where it started, I can't use any of the buttons around the zoom either. I can no longer fine tune my shot options now because of it.

Of the three goals I've listed, the first is the most important. It will give us the availability to make more doctor's appointments, spread our money a bit further at the store, access to job opportunities that we don't have right now, and in the long run: the availability to travel for my photography.

-----------------

In 2011, my family and I were evicted. We began living in a van, my daughter went to stay with her Nanna. We found a shelter run by a local church, they allowed us to stay until we found a house.

In early 2012, we found a house. We made an agreement with landlord, who at the time was cleaning up after his past tennants, that we would do the work. We would paint and do all the labor if he would let us move in sooner than he had planned to rent it out. This was under the understanding that we would get a small deduction on the rent for the first few months. He agreed and we began work. We foolishly didn't get the agreement in writing, so he proceeded to make the accusation that we owed him past due rent. Once again, we were evicted and back in the previous shelter.

By the summer of that year, we had gotten desperate and found a small home in a less than ideal neighborhood. It was in the price range of what we could afford at the time, we couldn't be picky at that point. Once again we ran into trouble with the landlord, except this time it was his refusal to do anything about the 'pest' that were getting in the house. I'm not going to sugar coat it, we had rats. Not mice, rats. They would come in through the old flooring in the kitchen at night. We tried everything on our own, but they just wouldn't budge. Due to his refusal to fix anything or do anything about our unwanted nighly guest, we started looking for a new home.

In early 2013, we moved into our current home. It's been the best since we were evicted after Thanksgiving in 2011. Yes, there are weak spots in the floors. The floors are slanted in places due to age and the only heating/cooling are two wall units on either side of the house, but it's home. And we have been our happiest here, not to mention our landlady is kind. She's replaced one of the units since we've moved in, she's always understanding if we don't have the full amount at the beginning of the month and she's just been great to deal with.

So here we are in 2016, living in the same home for the past 3 years and always trying to better ourselves to the next level. Our next level is going to require wheels though. In 2014, I had a small part time job that filled in the corners of my daughter's needs: clothes, shoes, etc. Due to the crushing weight of the anxiety I began to suffer the longer I was away from home, I had to quit. After months of working, I was suddenly plagued by what ifs, and it got to the point that I'd come home a wreck. I couldn't do it anymore.
I'm due at the doctor's this month, one of our dear friends is helping make sure I make the appointment, for a referral to a therapist.

So there it is, your donation goes toward helping us get our life back. It goes toward helping a creator create, get to a point she can support her family, and just do/be what she needs to be. Thank you for reading.